Dragons hammer Lugnuts; magic number 6

Lansing, MI - Billy Hamilton had four hits and three stolen bases, Chris Berset added a home run and two doubles, and seven different Dayton batters collected at least two hits as the Dragons pounded the Lansing Lugnuts 17-7 on Monday night. The Dragons cut their magic number to clinch a playoff berth to six with the victory as they improved their second half record to 38-18.

The Dragons established a season-high for runs in a game and matched season highs for hits in a game (21, one short of the club record), runs in an inning (seven in the sixth) and hits in an inning (six in the sixth). The put nine consecutive batters on base in the sixth inning when they jumped out to an 11-2 lead with a seven-run frame.

Hamilton was 4 for 6 and scored three runs to bring his league-leading total to 90. The three stolen bases gave him 89 on the season.

Berset was 3 for 5 including a two-run home run in the fourth inning that gave the Dragons a 4-0 lead at the time. He scored three runs. Kurtis Muller was 3 for 4 and scored three runs while Donald Lutz also added three hits for the Dragons. Ronald Torreyes had two hits and four runs batted in. Theo Bowe and Juan Duran also had two hits.

Dragons starting pitcher Daniel Corcino improved his record to 10-6 with the win. He worked the first five innings, allowing two hits and two runs (one earned) with three walks and six strikeouts.

Dragons reliever Daniel Wolford fired two and two-thirds scoreless innings to run his streak to 32.1 consecutive innings without allowing a run. Wolford has not been scored upon since June 9.

With 14 games to play in the season, the Dragons lead second place Fort Wayne by six games. In the race for the playoffs, the top two teams qualify, and Dayton leads Great Lakes and West Michigan, which are tied for third in the race, by nine games.

The Dragons wrap up the series in Lansing on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. (WONE 980 AM). Josh Smith (11-7, 3.09) will start for Dayton against Lansing’s Egan Smith (6-6, 3.86). The next home game is Saturday, August 27 vs. West Michigan at Fifth Third Field.